Mountain Bike Racing

Video: Cannondale and Sho-Air Merge Race Teams

The new hybrid team will focus on North American cross-country and endurance races

ron koch

(Photo by The new team includes veterans like Tinker Juarez and Pua Mata as well as rising stars. (Courtesy Cannondale))

Anyone following La Ruta de los Conquistadores might have seen this coming. There, Sho-Air racer Pua Mata rode a Cannondale to victory, even though the team had previously been sponsored by Specialized. But this was more than a hint that Mata was switching teams. Men’s runner-up Alex Grant, who races for Cannondale, had added the Sho-Air logo to his jersey. Rumors of a merger began to fly like mud spinning off the racers' tires.

Last week, the companies made it official and formally introduced the Sho-Air Cannondale team—a hybrid that contains members of the Sho-Air team, as well as Cannondale’s North American race squad. The new team is comprised of Cannondale’s Tinker Juarez, Jeremiah Bishop and Alex Grant. Joining them from Sho-Air are Max Plaxton and Pua Mata. Interestingly, the team also contains two motorcycle road-race legends: Eric Bostrom and Josh Hayes. Ty Kady will manage the team, and former racer Manny Prado will provide rider support.

The new Sho-Air Cannondale squad will focus on North American races and compete on Cannondale’s Scalpel 29er and F29 hardtail. The former Sho-Air riders we interviewed at the team introduced raved about the bikes and seemed particularly impressed with the steering precision of the Lefty fork. Team co-sponsors include Enve Composites, Magura, Crank Brothers, Maxxis, Fizik, Jakroo, and Osmo Nutrition.